Spaghetti sauce

Thatgrimguy

Need a solid recipe. Willing to do all day work. What’s your recommendation? It’s my “son” I’m his legal guardian. My boy is going to boot camp on Wednesday and that’s on his last meal list so I can’t just DR up a bottle of Bertolli for this one. He wants Italian sausage.

Theophan

I'm never eager to try a new recipe I've never cooked before when it's a really important occasion.  If what he wants is Italian sausage, I think I'd be tempted to just slowly brown some italian sausage, taken out of the casings, pour off most of the grease, and then pour in a bottled sauce that you know you and he have had and like.  You know it'll be good, it'll also be easy.

And BTW, in my area, anyway, the Italian sausage in the stores is always disappointing compared to the stuff I used to get when I lived in Philadelphia.  I always add a little fennel seed, because Italian sausage in Philly always had some in it, and I loved that taste.  Up to you, obviously.

If you really want to start from scratch, here's a recipe that has been reviewed by 1,351 people, with an average rating of 5 stars out of 5:

Sausage Ragù

Cook Time: 2 hr Servings: about 3 cups, enough for 1 to 1 1/2 pounds pasta Source: New York chef Sara Jenkins, who grew up in Tuscany and has cooked all over Italy, via Julia Moskin, NY Times 

INGREDIENTS

1 pound sweet Italian sausage or bulk sausage

Extra-virgin olive oil

1 onion, minced

1 carrot, minced

1 celery stalk, minced

¼ cup minced flat-leaf parsley, plus extra for garnish

1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, with its juice

1 large sprig fresh thyme

1 large sprig fresh rosemary

3 tablespoons tomato paste

Salt

Ground black pepper

1 pound tubular dried pasta such as mezzi rigatoni, paccheri or penne

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish, optional

DIRECTIONS

1. With the tip of a small, sharp knife, slit open the sausage casings. Crumble the meat into a wide, heavy skillet or Dutch oven and set over medium-low heat. If the meat is not rendering enough fat to coat the bottom of the pan as it begins to cook, add olive oil one tablespoon at a time until the meat is frying gently, not steaming. Sauté, breaking up any large chunks, until all the meat has turned opaque (do not let it brown), about 5 minutes.

2. Add onion, carrot, celery and parsley and stir. Drizzle in more oil if the pan seems dry. Cook over very low heat, stirring often, until the vegetables have melted in the fat and are beginning to caramelize, and the meat is toasty brown. This may take as long as 40 minutes, but be patient: It is essential to the final flavors.

3. Add tomatoes and their juice, breaking up the tomatoes with your hands or with the side of a spoon. Bring to a simmer, then add thyme and rosemary and let simmer, uncovered, until thickened and pan is almost dry, 20 to 25 minutes.

4. Mix tomato paste with 1 cup hot water. Add to pan, reduce heat to very low, and continue cooking until the ragù is velvety and dark red, and the top glistens with oil, about 10 minutes more. Remove herb sprigs. Sprinkle black pepper over, stir and taste.

5. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil pasta until just tender. Scoop out 2 cups cooking water, drain pasta and return to pot over low heat. Quickly add a ladleful of ragù, a splash of cooking water, stir well and let cook 1 minute. Taste for doneness. Repeat, adding more cooking water or ragù, or both, until pasta is cooked through and seasoned to your liking.

6. Pour hot pasta water into a large serving bowl to heat it. Pour out the water and pour in the pasta. Top with remaining ragù, sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately. Pass grated cheese at the table, if desired.

NOTES

"Meat sauce is one of the recipes many American home cooks start with. It seems so easy; brown some hamburger, pour in a jar of marinara, and presto! Meat sauce. Not so fast, friends. Made that way, your sauce may be thin-tasting, sour, sweet, or — worst of all — dry and chewy. Meat sauce with deep flavor and succulent texture isn’t harder to make; it just needs more time and a low flame. This recipe from the New York chef Sara Jenkins, who grew up in Tuscany and has cooked all over Italy, shows how it’s done. Caramelization is involved; dried pasta and canned tomatoes are best practice; and pork, not beef, is the meat of choice. If your sausage meat seems timidly flavored, feel free to add chopped garlic, chile flakes, fennel seed and/or dried herbs like oregano and sage to the meat as it browns."

I haven't made this myself, so I can't personally vouch for it, but again, 1,351 people rated it on the NY Times Cooking website, and the average is 5 stars out of 5.

nolaegghead

I don't think I've ever used a recipe.  My best advice is to get quality ingredients.

EggNorth

 I always start with Costco Marinara Sauce and add to that.  Smoked hamburger on the Egg is a great addition along with fried onions, mushrooms etc.

Gulfcoastguy

I haven't made it in years but a guy from Philadelphia taught me to make it. Use half ground beef and half pork sausage. Brown some onion and mushrooms in olive oil and towards the end add some garlic. Combine the meat and veggies then add tomato paste and tomato sauce both from good brands. Add some good red wine as needed to the cook and to the Cook. I second the fennel seeds. Taste it and maybe add just a touch of sugar depending on the quality of the tomatoes. You need to cook it slowly to get the canned taste out of the tomatoes and to cook the wine down. 

JohnEggGio

Sauté chopped onion in olive oil, add chopped garlic, toss in some crushed red pepper, add a handful of oregano and a handful of basil, add a half handful of thyme and rosemary- once the herbs are aromatic add tomato - I like to go  equal parts crushed and sauce - either 2 28oz cans of each or 3 cans of each.  I’ve been using the Hunt’s products for years - Red Pack is good, as is Cento.  A couple of good pinches of salt help brighten the flavor.  Once it’s hot I like to work-in some grated Parmesan.  Be patient - let it simmer a few hours. Stir occasionally, add water as necessary.  Drop in fully cooked meatballs or sausages about an hour before serving.  My current favorite dried pasta is De Cecco rigatoni.  

My my last name has 5 syllables, a pair of zs, and ends in a vowel.

RockyTopDW

google "jo mamas world famous spaghetti".  it's the crowd pleaser around here.  it's a little bit of work, but well worth it.

dannys

I make a version of Bolognese that is quite good (if I can say that). Here is what I do:

1# Ground beef
1# Ground pork (you can probably use part or all sausage minus the casing)
1 Large carrot shredded
1 Medium onion diced fine
2 large Celery stalks diced fine
Garlic to taste
Tomato paste
1 28 oz can Tomatoes (ground peeled or diced)
Oregano
Thyme or basil

Heat a pan with some olive oil and sweat the onion and carrot. Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook until it perfumes the air. Add the tomatoes and herbs.

Cook until the flavors mix and check for proper seasoning.

ColtsFan

I take the @nolaegghead approach. San Marzano, salt, onion, garlic, bell pepper, a couple sardines dissolved to start. Add browned beef/pork, sugar if needed and of course herbs

Botch

JohnEggGio said:

My my last name has 5 syllables, a pair of zs, and ends in a vowel.

And there you go!      

Thatgrimguy

JohnEggGio said:

Sauté chopped onion in olive oil, add chopped garlic, toss in some crushed red pepper, add a handful of oregano and a handful of basil, add a half handful of thyme and rosemary- once the herbs are aromatic add tomato - I like to go  equal parts crushed and sauce - either 2 28oz cans of each or 3 cans of each.  I’ve been using the Hunt’s products for years - Red Pack is good, as is Cento.  A couple of good pinches of salt help brighten the flavor.  Once it’s hot I like to work-in some grated Parmesan.  Be patient - let it simmer a few hours. Stir occasionally, add water as necessary.  Drop in fully cooked meatballs or sausages about an hour before serving.  My current favorite dried pasta is De Cecco rigatoni.  

My my last name has 5 syllables, a pair of zs, and ends in a vowel.

This is the exact kind of insider info I was looking for!! 

CtTOPGUN

 There are alcohol soluble flavor components in tomatoes. I would not cook a slow cooked sauce/gravy without adding wine or vodka, depending on the intended finish line. And would combine the tomato/alcohol before the alcohol evaporated.

Botch

^^^ Somewhat off-topic:
When alcohol-soluble compounds are dissolved, and then the alcohol is boiled off (it has a lower flash point than water) what happens to the compounds?  Are they broken down enough to remain in suspension in the water/oil/collagen solvents?  Do they settle out?  Crystallize?  
 
Chem 147, at Iowa State University, was the big "weed-out" class for freshman engineers; only one out of three students made it through (I was never more happy to get a "C" in my life).  Wish I was smarter on it.  

JohnEggGio

@Thatgrimguy, it’s forgiving - I’ve never measured anything.  Make it yours by more or less crushed red, maybe some black pepper, a cup of wine, maybe some chicken stock.  I made a pot a few days ago to go with chicken parm.  It was my birthday dinner, but a lot going on here - I was happy to make the sauce and cook-up the chicken cutlets.

Good luck - hope you love it!

westernbbq

Watch Godfather I.    When Peter Clemeza shows Sonny and Mikey how he makes red sauce...

That's the recipe!

buzd504

JohnEggGio said:

Sauté chopped onion in olive oil, add chopped garlic, toss in some crushed red pepper, add a handful of oregano and a handful of basil, add a half handful of thyme and rosemary- once the herbs are aromatic add tomato - I like to go  equal parts crushed and sauce - either 2 28oz cans of each or 3 cans of each.  I’ve been using the Hunt’s products for years - Red Pack is good, as is Cento.  A couple of good pinches of salt help brighten the flavor.  Once it’s hot I like to work-in some grated Parmesan.  Be patient - let it simmer a few hours. Stir occasionally, add water as necessary.  Drop in fully cooked meatballs or sausages about an hour before serving.  My current favorite dried pasta is De Cecco rigatoni.  

My my last name has 5 syllables, a pair of zs, and ends in a vowel.

This is roughly what I do.  I used fresh tomatoes the other night - parboil them for a couple of minutes and drop them in an ice bath and they are easy to peel.

I also don't use rosemary, I up the garlic to as much as anyone can tolerate, and I think it's essential to add more fresh basil immediately before serving.

I also agree that quality ingredients are key.